JULY 1, 1914 



509 



The clover was badly dwarfed by the long- 



oontinued drouth; but the bloom was there, 

 and literally covered with bees. The result 

 of that season's work was 200 lbs. per colo- 

 ny (had no swarm) of as fine honey as I 

 have ever seen. 



Since then I have made close observation, 

 and have not seen bees work on red clover 

 except when the weather was very dry and 



the clover badly dwarfed. For instance, tlie 

 latter part of last summer was extremely 

 dry, and we got a good crop of red-clover 

 honey. 



Now, from this experience I am convinced 

 that it takes a dwarfed condition of red 

 clover to make it possible for bees to reach 

 the nectar in it. 



Milo, Iowa. 



A SELF-EXTMGUISeiNG SMOKER 



BY F. C. MYER 



This is a smoker which can be extin- 

 ■ guished when through using by simply 

 closing the blast-tube with a slide. This 

 closes the lower part of the smoker; and as 

 the fire generates carbon dioxide (this gas 

 being heavier than air), it settles to tlie 

 bottom around the fire and extinguishes it 

 in about three minutes. The most intlam- 

 mable material will smother very quickly, 

 and without leaving a single si^ark when its 

 air supply is shut off. 



The closing apparatus is a simple iron 

 slide about the size and thickness of a five- 

 cent piece, and slides over the outer end of 

 the blast-tube, working in the same way as 

 the shut-off on a molasses-barrel or extract- 

 or. This arrangement will not clog up with 

 soot or the like, and should be as lasting 

 and serviceable as the rest of the smoker. 

 It is not absolutely air-tight, and does not 

 need to be so. When perfectly air-tight the 

 fire is extinguished within one minute ; but 

 this is not necessary. If extinguished in 

 several minutes it is quick enough, as the 

 main part of the fire is out in a fraction of 

 this time. 



Usually when a smoker is put away 

 without throwing out the fuel or putting it 

 out, it will burn for several hours. This, 

 when done lime after time, will wear or rust 

 out a tin-body smoker much quicker, and. 

 besides, cause danger of fire. The saving of 

 fuel also amounts to a good deal, as a 

 l^erson will often have only a few minutes' 

 work with the smoker, or will have added 

 a new lot of fuel just before quitting. It 

 would be a waste to throw it away, and yet 

 it is some trouble to take it out and care- 

 fully put out every last spark ; and if every 

 spark is not put out, it will likely be burn- 

 ing away full blast in half an hour. 



During a rush, such as in extracting time, 

 when through for the day and everybody is 

 sticky and tired, a little convenience of this 

 kind helps. This might be especially so for 

 hired help, who will sometimes let things go 

 rather than go to any extra trouble to be 

 careful. 



I have found the aj^paratus to be quick, 

 safe, and economical, and a great conven- 

 ience. 



Lowell, Ark. 



[We I'ecall that several years ago one of 

 the old-time smokers — possibly the Quinby 

 — was equipped with a slide or damper to 

 close the draft in order to put out the fire 

 and save the fuel. The idea has some merit, 

 for the charcoal, or unburnt fuel, thus re- 

 tained in the smoker, is kept dry and in 

 condition to light easily with a match the 

 next time the smoker is used. 



As Mr. Myer suggested in his letter to us, 

 any one may try the plan by inserting a 

 cork in the blast-tube. It occurs to us that 

 the use of a cork or plug attached to a leg 

 of the smoker by a string a couple of inches 

 long would be a very simple way to accom- 

 plish the same results. It would have the 

 advantage of fitting rather more tightly 

 than the slide, and would not take a great 

 deal more time to ]iut it in ]ihiee than to 

 turn the slide. — Ed.I 



